Patient's question:
My baby is still less than 4 months old and has been constipated recently. Usually, it doesn't have a bowel movement for a week or so. What are some better ways to solve this if the baby isn't excreting?Doctor's answer:
I. Dietary Therapy: For infant constipation, the first step is to identify the cause. If the infant is breastfed, constipation caused by insufficient breast milk is often accompanied by poor weight gain and crying after feeding. For this type of constipation, simply increasing the milk intake can alleviate the symptoms. Breastfed infants are more prone to constipation, which is usually due to the high content of casein in cow's milk, making the stool dry and hard. In this case, reducing the milk intake and increasing the sugar content can help, such as increasing the sugar content of the milk from the original 5–8% to 10–12%, and appropriately adding fruit juice. Infants under 3–4 months old can be given some baby cereal mixed with cow's milk. At home, a soap head can also be inserted into the infant's rectum, which also has a laxative effect. These simple methods for relieving constipation are worth trying.